CleanSG Day a good initiative, but ‘not enough to change habits’

SINGAPORE — While some lauded the creation of a CleanSG Day as a good initiative, others believe that getting residents to clean up their estates for one day is not enough to make Singaporeans curb their littering habits.

The Public Health Council initiative, which lets town council cleaners take a day off while residents pick up the litter in their own neighbourhoods, will take place on April 26 next year.

This will be the first time that the event will be held islandwide, although some estates have had such activities in previous years.

Mr Melvin Yong, Member of Parliament (MP) for Tanjong Pagar Group Representation Constituency (GRC), praised it as a good initiative to raise awareness of the littering problem in housing estates.

“Often, the tireless cleaning work done by our cleaners to keep the estates clean makes it hard for residents to imagine the amount of littering that occur in the housing estates,” he said.

But Jalan Besar GRC MP Denise Phua believes that a one-day CleanSG Day is not enough to change habits.

“It is a strong symbolic message to remind ourselves to drive the intended message across. There is certainly much more to be done to educate both our young and old,” she said.

TODAY’s report on the initiative on Monday had garnered a number of similar comments on Facebook.

Facebook user Chlorin Chew said: “This will be a good initiative but I don't think it will be an impact on residents… People just conveniently throw without thinking.”

Another Facebook user Charmaine Koh Shi Mei said: “I feel for the cleaners. Even though they get the day off, it means twice the work when they are back because how is the town council going to enforce this campaign? I think it would make more sense if it is Help Your Cleaners (on a regular basis).”

HOW SOME ESTATES HAVE DONE IT

Mountbatten MP Lim Biow Chuan said that a challenge he and his residents faced when they did it previously was when the rubbish piled up.

“There should be a balance in helping residents realise that cleaners do a big job in helping to keep estates clean and, at the same time, not make residents feel that the estate they live in is so filthy,” he said.

“Picking up rubbish from common areas because of people’s littering habits is already a massive undertaking. When cleaners take a break, normal rubbish in the main chute really piles up a lot.”

But in Nee Soon GRC, where more than 1,000 residents gather every month to pick up litter, the cleaners still work on such occasions.

“No matter what, the cleaners would still have to clean the chute,” said Mr Louis Ng, an MP in the constituency. “Those (rubbish chutes) will be cleaned by the cleaners but they won’t have to sweep.”

Dr Lee Bee Wah, his fellow MP in Nee Soon GRC, said: “The aim is not mainly to give cleaners a day off. It is to build awareness of our impact on cleanliness, so in the long run we can all have a cleaner environment.”

CLEANERS’ CONCERNS

The cleaners who spoke to TODAY said that the littering problem is big and cannot be solved in a one-day annual exercise.

Mr Pang Lin Seng, 81, a cleaner at an estate in Queenstown, said that he finds a lot of rubbish when he arrives for work in the morning.

“When I inform my supervisor about this, he said that I should be cleaning instead of complaining,” Mr Pang said.

Mr Abdul Kader, 38, a cleaner at an estate near Holland Village, said that he expects the rubbish to pile up if the constituency’s cleaners were given a day off.

He said: “I think it will be very dirty. We may have to work a lot more when we return the next day.”

Dr Teo Ho Pin, MP for Bukit Panjang, said that based on past CleanSG events, residents were generally supportive and took it as an opportunity to “thank our cleaners and play a role to keep our estates clean”.

He added that all 15 People’s Action Party (PAP) town councils will support CleanSG Day.

“The respective town councils will work with various community partners and residents to raise awareness on estate cleanliness, show appreciation to our cleaners and encourage residents to take ownership in keeping our towns clean,” said Dr Teo, who oversees the PAP town councils.

In response to media queries, a spokesperson for Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) said: “AHTC is scheduled to meet National Environment Agency in the first week of December to discuss this matter.”